Circle Time Routine and Daily Schedule in a PreK Inclusive Classroom!

Let me start off by saying this is still a daily work in progress (and that’s ok)! I currently service ten students from 8:05-11:00 in an inclusive Pre-K 3 classroom. Half of the students have IEPs while the other half do not. My students range from fully verbal to non-verbal and only one has had experience with a nursery school setting. To everyone else, this is a brand-new experience! In the beginning I was drenched in sweat, starving, and had body aches by the time they left. Glad to say it’s improved since then!

As with other classrooms I have designed, I like to work in chunks to ensure that I am hitting all of the necessary times required. For this program active play is a huge part in building language and social skills. My targeted skills are based off of the Early Learning Standards and the Child Outcome Summary. We are expanding so rapidly that soon I will have an afternoon version! For now, I service IEP students in the Pre-K 4 classroom in the afternoons.

** Important note: on day one we started checking schedules. I had four pictures and slowly started adding in more. These picture schedules are ESSENTIAL in building routine and independence. They are worth every ounce of routine work. Set expectations from the very beginning and even three-year olds will rise to them! Some students have actual pictures of the areas while the other kiddos transition via color matching.

A general day looks like this:

8:05-8:45– Students arrive, hang up their belongings in their cubbies, check their schedules and eat breakfast and/or engage in “choose” time. My school is Title One funded, so all students are offered breakfast in the mornings. I set out about six mats and my students can choose whether or not they want to eat. If they do not want to eat, they still turn in their breakfast tag and then their choose tag. Choose time consists of certain carpet toys, the library shelf, and the center area with stamps/writing. This keeps everyone busy while we finish breakfast, bathroom and gets some wiggles out. I also take out folders and collect important papers at this time. In the beginning I had everything opened and nothing blocked off. It was CHAOS. Kiddos were dumping toys and just running. I quickly took away extra toys, physically added walls, and defined carpet vs. center toys.

**We have many students in harnesses and car seats, so the paras gather those kiddos at this time!

8:45- My visual timer goes off and I shake some bells. We begin to sing the clean-up song quietly and help each other put things away. Next, kiddos help each other check their schedules and they grab the blue “group time” tag. This is our circle time. In the beginning it was insane. We got them to stay in a closed off area for about five minutes. We now are up to 30 minutes with a few that go in and out! Sometimes we are all in chairs and sometimes I have three laying on the floor. In time they will last longer, don’t be hard on yourself!

8:45-9:15- Circle Time Routine: This was another area that gave me major anxiety. They are so little, and I had some major behavior problems in the beginning. We kept at it and soon with consistency we have learned what to do during Circle Time! I have a big basket with all of my supplies (ie: AT devices, magical wands, books and hands on items). Our general routine is:

Match your tag to the wall

Find a chair

Say good morning (we all use the device!)

Calendar: We say the month, clap out the syllables, talk about the letter it begins with and go over the days of the week song and the actual date. My kids LOVE to pick a silly voice to sing in (ie: monster, mouse, princess). I’ll do anything to keep their attention!

Sing a song & movement. Right now, I have a borrowed CD player as I am still waiting on a Smart TV!

Short themed story (this week it’s about pumpkins!)

Objects that correlate with theme

Song & movement number two (and more if needed!)

Wrap up and next moves. I’ll usually say quietly, “Ok friends, today with Mrs. B you will be doing….. ,with me you will be … and in centers we will practice sharing and cleaning up. First, we are going to go out to recess. When I say go, we are going to stack the dark blue chairs, put back the light blue ones and check our schedules”. You would be amazed at how much they can do! Mix your routine with active and quiet times.

9:15-9:45- We travel outside to the playground to play and get the wiggles out! If it is raining or inclement weather, we will go right into work with teacher time/centers and have some extra choose time during the end with play doh and games.

9:45-10:00- We come back inside and use the bathroom, wash our hands and get ready for snack and drink! While my paras are outside, I put out the mats and pack bookbags with folders and other papers.

10:00-10:45- Work with teacher/Centers Time- After snack, kiddos check their schedules again and will either have a teacher tag or a centers tag first. To read more about how I run centers click here! It has taken well over a month to establish a good routine and finish assessing my kiddos. Now that I have more information and know them better, I am starting to add myself into the routine for a little work with teacher time. Three of my students are working purely on coming to the table and staying for about two minutes. I have to sit behind them and it’s full physical prompting and behavior training. These kiddos are completing more put in tasks and fine motor activities. While I work on a mini lesson, my para will run the new LEVEL 0.5 curriculums or complete a themed fine motor activity. While this is happening, we have kiddos use the bathroom again, and we change some of our kiddos.

10:45- Clean-up/ End of day routine:At this time, the timer goes off again and I ring the bells. We clean up and close off centers, and the carpet toys open up again while we finish with toileting. Students get their backpacks and we all grab a loop on the walking rope. I found mine here on amazon! We walk out to the buses and get everyone safely buckled in. Back inside to straighten up and scarf down some lunch!

Once a week happenings:

Speech time from 9-10:30- Our SLP comes in and I help with speech sessions!

Occupational & Physical Therapy- These therapists come in and service some of our students.

Specials-My principal came up with the great idea about handling specials with such tiny friends.Once a week from 9-9:30, we attend one special. ALL of the special teachers come to help at that time (so that would be Art, Media, Gym and Music). This is so helpful because they can be a lot to keep track of. As of now, we visit the gym and actual music class and for art, we stay in my room. I’ve loved the activities the specials teachers have planned, and I let them decide which week they want to take a turn.

Raising a Reader-OnFridays, we have our awesome RAR teacher Miss Spivey come into our room. She has a special purple owl tag and they LOVE this time. Miss Spivey will read a story and bring in a fun activity! I love exposing my class to different teachers and activities!

It sure is a lot to pack into such a short time but I feel like we are able to work on so many skills this way! Happy scheduling!

Stay Informed

Schedules are an essential component to any effective classroom. Schedules let us know when transitions will occur, the order of activities, and alerts us to changes. For children with autism who may struggle with receptive language processing, schedules are even more important. Effective use of schedules can increase functional independence and decrease negative behaviors and anxiety. However, there are some common pitfalls we fall into when it comes to appropriate schedule use. Learn my 10 dos and don’ts for classroom schedules and make the most out of this must-have strategy!

Data Full Day Session

The key to successful data collection is to make it easy and doable! No matter how great your data system is – if it’s too complicated you won’t use it. In this session, learn how to make your data system work for you. We will discuss ways to take data that are efficient, time saving, and useful for both academic and behavior data.In this session, we will review using rubrics, rate of responding, frequency count, and tracking prompt levels to take data on both basic and more complex skills. Learn how to create specific and individualized data sheets in a fast and simple way. Once you have all this data, you need to know what to do with. Making data based decisions is critical in determining if progress has been made. Learn how to use your academic data to drive your instructional decisions and plan supplemental activities, write additional goals, or strengthen foundational skills. Utilize behavioral data to create function based interventions, determine the success of behavior plans, and increase functional skills. Organization is the major component to a successful data system. We will discuss methods of organizing your data so you can access it readily. Staff training is also essential. Learn how to work with your staff so data is taken consistently across all areas of your classroom! Offered as a one or two day session.

Behavior Change Full Day

This full day workshop will offer practical solutions to foster increases in positive behaviors and decreases in problem behaviors. This session will begin by exploring how to apply these strategies to everyday situations in an applicable and proactive way. This approach will focus on the changing outcomes of behaviors by looking at the entire context and approaching behavior from a function based perspective. Audience members will learn how conduct a thorough Functional Behavior Assessment, select appropriate and function-based strategies, and analyze data to determine growth and next steps. This workshop highlights ready to use interventions and real-life scenarios. The concepts can be applied to a wide range of environments

Creating a Communication-Rich Environment for Your Preschoolers to Improve Literacy and Independence

In this full day workshop, we will explore methods to increase vocabulary, literacy skills, independence, and communication skills in your preschool students! The day begins with an in-depth look at the importance of building vocabulary for all preschoolers. Increased vocabulary will lead to more advanced reading skills in early elementary and overall school achievement. This session will explore using higher order thinking questions, play based learning, a focused read aloud, discrete trial training, and fluency instruction to build vocabulary with your preschoolers. We will also examine how appropriate and purposeful use of visuals helps build executive functioning skills with our younger learners. Learn how to utilize visuals to improve organization, planning, following directions, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility with preschool students. We will explore specific strategies and examples of how to create visuals, teach appropriate use, and utilize on a daily basis.

Functional Literacy

This session will examine literacy instruction for all types of students. We will review instructional planning, activity ideas, and specific interventions. Students with autism benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies into your functional literacy instruction.

Adapted Books: a Literacy Based Solution for Engaging IEP Instruction

Learn how to target a wide range of literacy goals for early childhood students using interactive and hands-on adapted books. An adapted book is any book that has been modified in some way that makes it more accessible. Adding moveable pieces, simplified text, and visually based comprehension activities to your existing favorite books can help increase student engagement. In this session, we will explore ways to create your own adapted books that build both foundational language skills and more advanced literacy concepts.

Using Your Academic Data to Making Curricular Decisions

Learn how to use your academic data to drive your instructional decisions. Explore a variety of ways to effectively and efficiently take data that is useful. In this session, we will review using rubrics, rate of responding, frequency count, and tracking prompt levels to take data on both basic and more complex academic skills. After collecting the data, then you need to use it! Learn how to utilize your data to plan supplemental activities, write additional goals, or strengthen foundational skills.

The goal for all general education and special education students is to be learning, engaged, and independent. Begin this process by identifying each learning and behavioral challenge as a Can’t Do or Won’t Do. Is the work or work process beyond your child’s skill level or is the motivation to complete the task not there? Explore learning obstacles by improving executive functioning skills and adapting academic work. Add a proactive element to your behavior management system by implementing positive reinforcement to increase positive behaviors within your class. This session is jam packed with ready to use strategies for general education and special education classrooms.

Behavior Contingency Maps

We live in a rule-driven world yet so often our children and adults lack the understanding of these guidelines. Behavior Contingency Maps show a visual representation of everyday rules. These maps illustrate the consequences that result from both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These maps are an ABA based intervention and help identify the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) and will give your student or child a concrete way of understanding that “if, then” relationship – “If you do this, this will happen.” In this session, audience members will explore the purpose & use of Behavior Contingency Maps as well as leave ready to implement this strategy immediately in an effective and positive way!

Behavior Contingency Maps

We live in a rule-driven world yet so often our children and adults lack the understanding of these guidelines. Behavior Contingency Maps show a visual representation of everyday rules. These maps illustrate the consequences that result from both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These maps are an ABA based intervention and help identify the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) and will give your student or child a concrete way of understanding that “if, then” relationship – “If you do this, this will happen.” In this session, audience members will explore the purpose & use of Behavior Contingency Maps as well as leave ready to implement this strategy immediately in an effective and positive way!

Using Organization and Structure to work with Individuals with Disabilities

Working with the adult population can be very challenging. It can be tricky to navigate the often under-funded world of adult education in a way that is helpful and age appropriate for our adults. It’s a daunting task to create an environment that is meaningful and engaging. Individuals with autism are all so different and have a vast array of needs. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your adult day program classroom. We will discuss everything from creating an efficient schedule, the physical structure, using visuals, creating a data system, and beginning curricular planning.

Data Collection: Making it Easy and Useful

The key to successful data collection is to make it easy and doable! No matter how great your data system is – if it’s too complicated you won’t use it. In this session, learn how to make your data system work for you. Learn how to create specific and individualized data sheets in a fast and simple way. We will discuss ways to take data that are efficient, time saving, and useful. Once you have all this data, you need to know what to do with. Making data based decisions is critical in determining if progress has been made. Organization is the major component to a successful data system. We will discuss methods of organizing your data so you can access it readily. Staff training is also essential. Learn how to work with your staff so data is taken consistently across all areas of your classroom!

Literacy Instruction for Children with Autism

Children with autism are capable of learning to read when provided structured and individualized instruction! This session will provide detailed instruction on strategies to teach pre-reading skills, oral reading fluency, sight word recognition, reading comprehension, and word attack skills. This session will be focused on methods to organize and implement these strategies within special education classrooms for students with autism. Students with autism benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies to effectively teaching reading to students with autism. This session will also focus on the organizational aspect of reading instruction. We will discuss scheduling, grouping students, training paraprofessionals, and more!

Behavior Change – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

This keynote presentation is perfect for a varied audience. Teachers, parents, clinicians, and other support staff will benefit from this proactive and real-world based perspective on behavior change. In this workshop, we will investigate how to increase positive behaviors, decrease negative behaviors, and how to handle emergency situations where nothing goes as planned!

Reducing Problem Behavior Using Function Based Interventions

Aggression and other problem behaviors can be the biggest obstacle to running a successful classroom. Whether extreme or mild, these behaviors can stop our teaching and halt student progress. In this session, learn how to use function-based interventions to efficiently and effectively reduce problem behaviors. In this workshop, begin by identifying target behaviors and determine the reason behind these maladaptive responses. Use this information to select an appropriate and effective intervention. In this session, we will discuss a multitude of interventions for each type of behavior.

Seven Steps for Setting Up a Stellar Autism Room

It’s a daunting tasks setting up an autism classroom or appropriately integrating students with autism into the general education setting. Students with autism are all so different and have a vast array of needs. Many of these learners need to be taught individually. It can seem impossible to effectively teach a group of such different students when so many of us our understaffed. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your classroom. We will discuss everything from creating an efficient classroom schedule, the physical structure, using visuals, creating a data system, and beginning your curricular planning.

Adapting Academics

Learn how to create curriculum that is engaging, appropriate, and at your child’s level. In this presentation we will go through a variety of instructional techniques, program goals, and material suggestions for language arts and math instruction. This workshop is incorporates ideas for all levels of learners.

Fluency Instruction – Make it Functional! Make it Fast!

Fluency is accuracy plus speed and is a must-have when it comes to making the skills we teach functional in the real world. Learn how to implement fluency instruction in your classroom with this interactive workshop. This presentation covers instructional strategies for both lower level learners and more advanced academic and functional skill sets.